This summer could be drier, hotter than normal

Mother Nature has shown us why Memorial Day weekend could never qualify as the “official” start of the summer season. We saw record cold temperatures on May 28, including a record low in Bonners Ferry of 30 degrees Fahrenheit and a record cold daytime high of only 51 degrees in Pullman. Overcast skies and cool temperatures blanketed the entire region.

Fast forward one week, and near-record high temperatures were reached the weekend of June 2 and 3 at both Spokane and Coeur d’Alene. Coeur d’Alene missed the record high of 94 by one degree last Sunday, topping out at 93 degrees. Spokane was only one degree off its record high of 95, heating up to 94 degrees. Lewiston took the prize, though, for breaking into the triple digits, soaring to a record-breaking 101 degrees.

The pendulum was quick to swing back in the opposite direction again, with a spectacular light show and a healthy dose of rainfall across parts of the Panhandle last Monday night. Cooler air was once again ushered in, and by Wednesday high temperatures were more than 20 degrees below normal.

Spring’s wild weather fluctuations will start to level out as we reach the true beginning of summer on the solstice June 21. Once the summertime ridge of high pressure settles in, you can count on long stretches of hot, dry weather.

Developing La Niña conditions may contribute to a drier and hotter than normal summer season, but it will be difficult to top last year’s summer drought period where a total of only .08 inches of rain fell during the months of July and August. Accompanying the dry weather were four days in a row of triple digit temperatures (July 21-24) with an additional 34 days at 90 degrees and above.

According to the record books, Coeur d’Alene saw its hottest summer 40 years ago in 1967. The average daily high temperature for that entire summer season was a toasty 90.8 degrees. There were 16 days in which temperatures surpassed the century mark, with another 29 afternoons with highs in the 90s.

During a typical summer, we see a peak in the average high temperature of 88 degrees from the last week of July into the first week of August. At the driest time of the year, that is also the period where we have our best chance of seeing triple digit readings. For this month, the record high temperature occurred on the second day of summer, June 23, 1973. On that day Coeur d’Alene reached 102 degrees.

As far as rainfall goes, this month sees an average of 1.78 inches of rain. We’re off to a decent start for the first week of June, having received .39 inches as of the June 6.

While folks across the Inland Northwest gear up in anticipation of hot and sunny summer days, the opposite is true for those in the South and Southeast. Hurricane season began June 1, and with the Atlantic hurricane dampening effects of El Niño gone, it may be rough going in that region. Sadly, the rainfall is desperately needed in the drought parched and fire ravaged areas of Florida and Georgia.

Last year there were only 10 named storms with only five becoming hurricanes. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is predicting a 75 percent chance that the 2007 Atlantic hurricane season will be above normal, with 13 to 17 named storms and seven to 10 hurricanes. Though we in the Northwest might only have a passing interest weatherwise, in tropical storms that are occurring thousands of miles away, I bet most folks will be paying more attention to hurricane forecasts this year, as they also keep their eyes on the price at the pump.